Apraxia of Speech

Apraxia of speech is a motor speech disorder. It causes difficulty speaking, not due to muscle weakness, but due to a breakdown in the brain's coordination of muscle movements. The person knows what he wants to say, but his brain has trouble planning voluntary movements of the lips, tongue, and other speech muscles in order to produce sounds or words.

Acquired Apraxia of Speech

Acquired apraxia of speech refers to the loss or impairment of speech skills that a person once had. It is caused by damage to the speech centers of the brain from stroke, traumatic brain injury, tumors, or other neurological diseases. It often occurs along with aphasia and may occur with dysarthria.

Childhood Apraxia of Speech

Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS) is also known as developmental apraxia. The symptoms become noticeable as the child learns to speak. CAS may be caused by neurological or genetic disorders, but most often the cause is not known. Children with CAS often have other speech, language and/or motor problems such as reduced vocabulary, trouble learning to read, or clumsiness.

Symptoms of Apraxia of Speech

Apraxia symptoms may be very mild, with only occasional problems producing long words or sequences of words. They may also be so severe that the person cannot voluntarily produce any sound. People with apraxia of speech may have difficulty ordering sounds in words (e.g., batle for table) or they may produce the wrong sounds altogether (e.g., dadle for table). They may become frustrated because they are usually aware of their mistakes and try repeatedly to correct their errors; often the harder they try, the more mistakes they make.

Symptoms include:

Inconsistent error patterns

More errors on longer words and words with more complex sound patterns

Difficulty imitating sounds or words

May be able to produce mouth movements without thinking about it (e.g., using the tongue to lick a piece of food off the lip) but cannot produce those same movements when they are told to

May be able to produce automatic speech such as counting, naming days of the week, or singing very familiar songs

Groping (trial and error movements of the mouth) may occur as the person tries to get his mouth into the correct position to say a word or sound

Abnormal rate, rhythm or intonation pattern of speech

Assessing and Treating Apraxia of Speech

The Speech-Language Pathologist (SLP) will perform a variety of tests to look at the client's motor speech skills. She may look at his ability to imitate mouth movements, sounds, words, and sentences, or to say them without a model. The SLP may also perform other speech and language tests to rule out other types of disorders. She will ask about the medical history for clients with acquired apraxia, and the developmental and family history for children with suspected CAS.

Therapy will include different activities to work on motor planning of speech movements. Clients may practice sounds, words and phrases in different ways, often moving from shorter/simpler to longer/more complex targets to practice sequencing and coordinating movements. The SLP may give different types of cues to help the client say the targets correctly, and provide feedback to the client about how well he is doing. Rhythm - clapping, tapping along with speech or singing – or a slow rate of speech may be used to make speech easier. The client will usually need to practice these speech exercises at home. If apraxia is very severe, the SLP may look at using an augmentative or alternative method of communication.

Hearing Survey

Please answer the question below to the best of your ability. After you choose your answer, the next question will appear. At the end of the survey, you will be provided with a score, and you may send this score to us so we may discuss any hearing loss issues you are having.

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Are there situations in which you find it difficult to hear clearly?

Do you have to strain to understand conversations?

Do you have a problem hearing over the telephone?

Do you have trouble following a conversation when two or more people are talking at the same time?

Do you have trouble hearing conversations in a noisy background such as a restaurant or a group gathering?

Do you have dizziness, pain, or ringing in your ears?

Do family members or coworkers remark about you missing what has been said?

Do people complain that you turn the TV volume up too high?

Do you find it hard to hear someone when they talk in a soft voice or whisper?

Do you find understanding women and children particularly challenging?

You are not experiencing common signs of hearing loss. However, if you suspect you may have hearing loss or are experiencing other symptoms not listed here, please contact our office for a consultation.

It appears you may be experiencing signs of a hearing loss. A hearing test can help detect early signs. We recommend contacting our office to schedule a hearing test.

Your responses indicate that you are experiencing common signs of a hearing loss. We recommend that you contact us to set up an appointment for a hearing test.

You are experiencing many signs of a hearing loss. It is highly recommended that you contact our office today for an appointment to meet with a hearing professional.

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